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FAQs

Congratulations on your admission to the Honors College!

We are comprised of eight unique living-learning programs (LLPs), which attract some of the country’s - and the world's - most brilliant minds. Being a part of an LLP means that you will be in a close-knit living-learning community, where faculty and staff will work closely with your cohort of students to foster learning inside and outside of the classroom. We invite you to learn more about these living-learning programs prior to telling us which ones interest you the most, and then we will let you know which program has selected you. You will then spend the next two to four years living with other students in your LLP, and working towards an Honors College Citation. There is no “right” or “wrong” LLP, so we ask you to learn more about the opportunities available to students in each program before you fill out your preferencing form. Welcome to the Honors College!


General   |   Academics   |   Housing


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Questions?

Please contact honorsadmissions@umd.edu.



Helpful Resources

Honors College General:


UMD Resources:



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General FAQs

The students. Dedicated faculty and staff. The programs. Smaller classes. Honors students are intellectually energetic, full of diverse perspectives, from all majors, and are leaders in just about everything on campus. Faculty teach Honors courses on exciting, often interdisciplinary, topics. The faculty and students work together to create an exceptionally powerful and inspiring learning environment.

Absolutely. The Honors College is an interdisciplinary experience, and all majors are welcome.

Expect to find a wide range of opportunities to explore, including research, internships, study abroad, and small, interdisciplinary, sophisticated courses with outstanding faculty who encourage you to expand your thinking. The Honors community is intellectually stimulating, diverse, inspiring, and supportive.

  • We’ve added anti-racist curricular and cocurricular programming;
  • We’ve continued our efforts in working with the Honors Student Advisory Boards and other Honors College groups to create networks of support, mentors, faculty contact, community, and opportunity. This includes PrePAIR Mentoring Program, a peer mentor program where first-year underrepresented minorities are paired with current underrepresented minority students to help guide them through their first year;
  • We sponsor the Black Honors Caucus and W.E.B. Du Bois Honor Society to increase opportunities for students of color to dialogue and interact with people from different global cultures, through community and service;
  • We've established mechanisms of accountability across the Honors College to support continuous evaluation of how we are doing and to solicit major stakeholders’ input for additional actions;
  • Other support resources across campus include the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, which houses resources for the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Education, the Nyumburu Cultural Center, and #UMDSolidarity - events and opportunities for solidarity and reflection.

Deferrals go through the Office of Undergraduate Admissions (OUA) and, if approved, their invitation to the Honors College and their LLP are held for one year. More information can be obtained by contacting the OUA.

Honors College students are often recipients of both merit and need-based scholarships and awards. Admission to the Honors College does not guarantee a scholarship award. All students who wish to be considered for merit or need-based financial aid should apply by the priority deadline of November 1 and complete the FAFSA form by the university deadline. Merit awards offered to a select group of incoming freshmen include the Banneker/Key Scholarships, the President’s Scholarship, and the Dean’s Scholarship.

Current students who have completed one year of coursework at the University of Maryland can apply to join the Honors College. Admission for current UMD students is highly competitive and the number of spaces available is extremely limited. A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 is required to apply.

Upperclassmen may also become members of the Honors College by joining a Departmental Honors Program in their academic department or college.

LLP-Specific Websites:

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Academic FAQs

Not necessarily. Each program is designed to allow you to explore your varied intellectual interests, all while completing 15-18 credits that are intended to fit into your degree plan's general education requirements.

No, priority for registration for classes is based on the number of credits a student has. However, Honors students have priority to all the campus Honors version courses and exclusive access to Honors courses each year.

All students invited to join the Honors College will be placed into one of our eight living-learning programs. Students may select a specialized program with a specific topic or one that is more interdisciplinary. Living-Learning programs range from two-year programs like the multidisciplinary University Honors (UH), Interdisciplinary Business Honors (IBH) and Honors Global Communities (HGC) to the more focused Design Cultures & Creativity (DCC), Honors Humanities (HH), Advanced Cybersecurity Experience for Students (ACES) and Integrated Life Sciences (ILS), to the multidisciplinary four-year research program - Gemstone (GEMS). Programs are not connected to majors. They are designed to allow you to explore your varied intellectual interests.

Students invited to the Honors College will be asked to indicate their preference for living-learning programs after they are invited to the Honors College. We will offer info sessions about each of the living-learning programs after decisions are released, so students will have an opportunity to learn more about each of the living-learning programs, and will be able to meet faculty and students in each program. Students will be assigned to a living-learning program based on availability and fit for each program.

Students who submitted their preferences by February 22 can expect to be notified by the second week of March. Students who submit their preferences after February 22 will be notified on a rolling basis, based upon space availability.

Students who matriculate to the Honors College starting in Fall 2020 and later and are in good standing with the Honors College, may apply to transfer from their current Honors College living-learning program to any other program within the Honors College. Students should note that living-learning program space is limited, therefore transfer approval is also based upon availability.

The Honors citation (for completing the requirements in an LLP) is a transcript notation that is typically completed during a student's first two years on campus. Departmental Honors is for upperclass students and results in a diploma notation. Many Honors students complete both the Honors Citation and earn Departmental Honors.

AP and IB credits do not count towards honors citation requirements; however, the university does accept these credits, which often gives students the flexibility to declare a double major or to pursue other exciting opportunities such as study abroad.

Visit Transfer Credit Services for more information and a comprehensive chart of the university's credit exemptions.

Scholarships are definitely available for students who are already here! The best options for these are usually departmental scholarships, so depending on the student's major, they will want to check with the department or college. Additionally, the Scholarships office here on campus is available to help students apply for national and international scholarships, and our Honors students are often especially well prepared for these awards!

Study abroad is encouraged for Honors students. There are several options to study abroad and more information can be obtained by contacting the Education Abroad office. Also, if planned correctly students can study abroad without extending their time to graduate.
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Housing FAQs

All eight Honors programs are living and learning communities, each with its own residence hall. Honors College students currently live in either the Ellicott Community (Hagerstown, LaPlata, Ellicott Halls) or the North Hill Community (Prince Frederick and Anne Arundel Halls). Many Honors upperclassmen live in the South Campus Commons apartments. Each year, a few students choose to commute or opt for non-Honors housing. You should ask a living-learning Program Director about housing options, if you think you might choose to live outside the program’s residence hall.

Some residence halls do not have A/C; however, the common rooms within those residence halls do have A/C. Current students have said that having no A/C has actually helped get to know other students, since they all congregate within the common areas. More information on resident life can be found here.


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